The Azed crossword is a standard plain puzzle without any of Azed’s special twists.
So we just have a well-clued journey through the many words that Chambers Dictionary has on offer.
Entries range from the old and obscure (e.g. SPIAL) to modern day terminology (e.g LARGE IT)
I haven’t been able to parse LARGE IT properly so I will be interested to learn how other solvers gave done so. I don’t understand ‘without opener freely consumed’. Are we ignoring the L in LAGER when forming an anagram? That then leaves LIT which doesn’t seem to fit ‘freely consumed’
I could see that the entry 11 down had to be BERTH but it took me a while to determine the wordplay. I suppose No 3 and NUMBER THREE are synonymous, but there was little guidance to rewrite the words in the clue in a different form.
I often struggle to decide whether a clue is an &Lit or not. Is the clue for AUTOCAR an &Lit?
I have come across PRIALS as PAIR-ROYALS before but only in a crossword.
As ever, Azed has given us an entertaining challenge with plenty of opportunities to learn new words.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 |
Anything Scottish showing style, first to last (5) OUCHT (Scottish word meaning ‘anything’) TOUCH (characteristic manner, style or trait) with the initial letter T moved to the end (first to last) OUCHT |
| 5 |
In which one takes a tour abroad round California? (7) AUTOCAR (vehicle in which one can take a tour) Anagram of (abroad) A TOUR containing (round) CA (California) AUTO (CA) R* Could be parsed as A + (an anagram of TOUR containing CA) |
| 10 |
Bachelor careless about desk as container for articles not currently needed? (9) BALAAM-BOX (in journalism, a place in which unimportant paragraphs are kept in readiness for later use) BA (Bachelor [of Arts] + (LAX [careless] containing [about] AMBO [an early Christian raised reading-desk or pulpit]) BA LA (AMBO) X |
| 12 |
Tsotsi, artful, hugging stunner given latitude (6) SKOLLY (young hooligan or gang member; tsotsi is similarly defined as a young hooligan or thug) SLY (artful) containing (hugging) (KO [a knockout; a stunner] + L [latitude]) S (KO L) LY |
| 13 |
Mugs for fresh brew (5) SWATS (alternative spelling of swots [mugs]) SWATS (Scottish term for new ale; fresh brew) double definition SWATS |
| 15 |
A PT term in training (7) TRAMPET (small trampoline used for springing off, in gymnastic vaulting; a physical training term) Anagram of (in training) A PT TERM TRAMPET* |
| 16 |
Regarding golf shot, one going in, I have supposed (10) REPUTATIVE (supposed) RE (regarding) + (A [one] contained in [going in] PUTT [golf shot]) + I’VE (I have) RE PUT (A) T IVE |
| 18 |
Parisian suburb, unfortunately without river (4) ORLY (suburb of Paris) POORLY (unfortunately) excluding (without) PO (Italian river) ORLY |
| 20 |
Bone showing spite mum cracks (6) HAMATE (hooked bone in the wrist) MA (mum) contained in (cracks) HATE (extreme dislike; showing spite) HA (MA) TE |
| 21 |
Private secretary pocketing currency unit in sets of three (6) PRIALS (pair-royals [three cards of the same denomination, especially in cribbage) PS (private secretary) containing (pocketing) RIAL (standard monetary unit of Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the Yemen Arab Republic) P (RIAL) S |
| 24 |
Foreign birds creating match with coating switched (4) TUIS (New Zealand honey guides; foreign birds) SUIT (fit; match) with the outer letters S and T swapped round (with coating switched) to form TUIS TUIS |
| 25 |
Means of examining altered plans involving courtyard (10) PALPATIONS (examinations by means of touch) Anagram of (altered) PLANS containing (involving) PATIO (courtyard) PAL (PATIO) NS* |
| 27 |
Have a terrific time, tiddly, lager without opener freely consumed (7, 2 words) LARGE IT (enjoy oneself unrestrainedly or boisterously; have a terrific time) Anagram of (tiddly) LAGER + ? LARGE IT |
| 30 |
Ester of a kind found in whole ingredients (5) OLEIN (a glycerine ester of oleic acid) OLEIN (hidden word in [in] WHOLE INGREDIENTS) OLEIN |
| 31 |
Screed maybe I loaded into truck (6) TIRADE (long vehement or angry harangue; SCREED can be defined similarly) I contained in (loaded into) TRADE (dealings; truck) T (I) RADE |
| 32 |
Discoloration from some anils, processed (9) MELANOSIS (discoloration of the skin caused by abnormally large deposits of melanin) Anagram of (processed) SOME ANILS MELANOSIS* |
| 33 |
We enjoy hurting street in grip of sober lives (7) SADISTS (people who enjoy hurting others) ST (street) contained in (in the grip of) (SAD [sober] + IS [lives]) SAD I (ST) S |
| 34 |
Distinct botanical items died in broken case (5) ECADS (species with distinctive forms dependent on the environment) D (died) contained in (in) an anagram of (broken) CASE ECA (D) S* |
| Down | |
| 1 |
Bort’s mixed with another stone, nothing American (vulgarly loud?) (12) OBSTROPALOUS (non-standard form of OBSTREPOROUS [unruly; making a loud noise; vulgarly loud]) Anagram of (mixed) BORTS + OPAL (gemstone) + O (character representing zero; nothing) + US (American) OBSTR* OPAL O US |
| 2 |
Pound the beat, as copper with Lord Mayor regularly intervening … (5) CLOMP (walk with a heavy tread; pound the beat) COP (policeman; copper) with the letters of LM (Lord Mayor) being inserted at positions 2 and 4 (regularly intervening) C (L) O (M) P |
| 3 |
… Appearing under hat, mostly straw (4) HALM (straw) HAT excluding the final letter (mostly) T + LM (Lord Mayor, from previous clues hence the ellipses linking the clues) HA LM |
| 4 |
Show off whirling atlatl’s like … i.e. unleashed (8, 2 words) TALK TALL (boast; show off) Anagram of (whirling) ATLATL LIKE excluding (unleashed) I.E. TALK TALL* |
| 5 |
Sedative that cuts a pain (6) AMYTAL (proprietary name of amobarbital [a powder used as a sedative]) YT (obscure word that used to mean ‘that’) contained in (cuts) (A + MAL [pain]) A M (YT) AL |
| 6 |
Big dog that’s tucked into potato salad (4) TOSA (heavily built, smooth-haired dog; big dog) TOSA (hidden word in [tucked into] POTATO SALAD) TOSA |
| 7 |
Church primate to the French, in his mitre? (7) CHAPEAU (hat; a mitre is a bishop’s hat) CH (church) + APE (primate) + AU (French for ‘to the’) CH APE AU |
| 8 |
Veteran signing up state spoilt with cash, grand (9) ATTESTING (old [veteran] word for enrolling for military service; signing up) Anagram of (spoilt) STATE + TIN (money; cash) + G (grand) ATTES* TIN G |
| 9 |
Don’t sleep so much when brought before head, being uneasy (12) RESTLESSNESS (state of being uneasy) REST LESS (don’t sleep so much) + NESS (head[land]) REST LESS NESS |
| 11 |
Cabin No. 3 gives this accommodation (5) BERTH (sleeping-place in a ship or train; cabin accommodation) BERTH (hidden word in [gives this] NUMBER THREE [No. 3]) BERTH |
| 14 |
E.g. pipeclay got from arable mixed with art (9, 2 words) TERRA ALBA (any of various white, earthlike substances such as gypsum, kaolin, pipeclay, etc) Anagram of (… mixed with …) ARABLE and ART) TERRA ALBA* |
| 17 |
Violet, possibly a Scot with meagre English (8) IANTHINE (violet-coloured) IAN (Scottish name) + THIN (meagre) + E (English) IAN THIN E |
| 19 |
Predial broadcast, not to rely on hearsay? (7) LIPREAD (understand what a person says by watching the movement of his or her lips; don’t rely on hearing what is being said or what other people report what was said [hearsay]) Anagram of (broadcast) PREDIAL LIPREAD* |
| 22 |
Old watch in lazar-house losing time (5) SPIAL (obsolete [old] word meaning observation or watch) SPITAL (hospital for foul diseases like a lazar-house) excluding (losing) T (time) SPIAL |
| 23 |
Master letting wowser in, making allowances (6) BATTAS (allowances in addition to ordinary pay; subsistence money) BAAS (master, overseer) containing (letting in) TT (teetotaller; a wowser is a teetotaller) BA (TT) AS |
| 26 |
They get to work after rumination, when a way of working comes up (5) OMASA (ruminant’s third stomach, one that gets to work after earlier rumination) (AS + A + MO (modus operandi [way of working]) all reversed (comes up; down entry) (OM A SA)< |
| 28 |
When to hear vespers and an extract from Genesis (4) ENES (variation on E’ENS, poetic word for evenings, a time when vespers would be sung) ENES (hidden word in [extract from] GENESIS) ENES |
| 29 |
Orderly schoolkids cut pot (4) CROC (abbreviation for CROCodile, an orderly group of schoolchildren walking together) CROC CROC |
Anagram of (L)AGER (“freely” and “without opener”) inside (“consumed”) LIT (“tiddly”)
Thanks duncanshiell. The anagrind for [l]ager in LARGE IT is ‘freely’, which leaves LIT to be ‘tiddly’. Took me a while to see.
Thanks as ever to Azed.
Also, thank you for the excellent, color-coded post. I could not for the life of me see how to get to “ORLY,” of all things, even though that had to be the answer.
Thanks for the blog, I did enjoy this but I do have a couple of quibbles , maybe just my Chambers 93 out of date for some of them
SKOLLY is a pretty offensive term , maybe could have been added to the clue.
SWATS is a Scottish word for a fresh brew, no indication.
HAMATE not shown as a bone .
AMYTAL YT is an obsolete abbreviation, no indication.
BATTAS no mention of wowser=TT in my C93 .
I realise some of these are my dictionary and some are minor points but Azed usually indicates things in his clues.
Roz@4: Don’t know about the rest, but the Chamber app (based on the 2014 edition) give HAMATE as “A hooked bone in the wrist” and the second definition of “wowser” is a teetotaller.
Thanks Dormouse , I suspected 2014 would be the answer.
It looks like a lot of complaints I know, I did think it was a good crossword. The other three are just points where Azed is normally meticulous in his indications.
Roz@4, I’m with you on all of those! I thought I’d heard of HAMATE as a bone, but it wasn’t in my C98, so I had to check it via Google.
I think 5ac AUTOCAR is an &lit – it’s probably more an American word than a British one (although my Chambers doesn’t give it as such).
I stumbled over the parsing of LARGEIT initially, as I managed to apply both ‘tiddly’ and ‘freely’ to the anagram, before the penny dropped. BERTH was even harder to parse, but got there in the end.
Thanks for the blog.
This was strictly a DNF for me. The alternative spelling of OBSTREPOROUS/OBSTROPALOUS confused me (although I had ORLY) which left me with RAR.EIT for 27 across. LARGEIT makes sense now so thanks for the blog and comments.
I looked at the 3 definitions of Swat and couldn’t find anything relating to a brew and didn’t carry on to the next page of Chambers where SWATS appears (not a plural) as a Scottish word – not indicated as such as Roz @4 says.
Roz @4, I agree with you in thinking Swats and Yt should be indicated as Scots and obsolete respectively, although C2014 has HAMATE defined as “a hooked bone in the wrist” and one of the definitions of wowser as “a teetotaller”.
I think OBSTROPALOUS is rather clever, vulgarly indicating the illiterate version and the loud being the definition.
Objections to HAMATE and WOWSER are withdrawn.
The other three stand for now, the clues are okay but I am judging Azed by his OWN standards.
Afternoon all! Am able to raise bloggers to two figures. Thanks, as always, to Azed (hope he’s enjoying his holiday) and to duncanshiells. Didn’t leave myself many notes but I do recall taking a while to understand LARGE IT. The L in lager was the problem until LIT lit. (andlit?!). Keep cool.
Just to add that SKOLLY=Tsotsi reminds me of the beautiful South African film “Tsotsi” which I recommend. Wonder if Azed had seen it.
Thanks to everyone who has explained the correct parsing of LARGE IT. I was just fixated on ‘tiddly’ applying to LAGER and failed to recognisde the improtance of ‘freely’
I have only come across LARGE IT the othe way round as in….. givin’ it large. Though BRB also mentions having (not havin’) it large. Either way, in the end, gettable and enjoyable overall. Thanks to DS as always for blog with lucid explanations. Very helpful to me.